Hope — Good, Bad, or Stupid
Hope is not always good. It can be bad or stupid. This article will help you distinguish them.
Bad Hope — Hoping God will cure global warming and we can continue our lives the way we do
Good Hope — Hoping your hard work to learn a new skill will be fruitful
Stupid Hope — Hoping to do 1 week’s work in 24 hours (Because you procrastinated the whole week)
I call Hope as ‘Hyper Optimistic Engagement’
Hope comes into play when the probability of the expected result is less than 5%. Hence, I call it Hyper Optimistic.
Hope is an engagement as it can stop you from doing anything to get the expected result.
When is Hope Good?
When you are doing everything in your power to get an expected result but the odds are stacked against you.
For example, Studying hard for an exam and Hoping to succeed in a competitive exam that has an intake of 0.1%.
In this case, Hope works as a positive re-enforcement and helps you to keep going.
When is Hope Bad?
When Hope makes you passive such that you stop taking any action. When you are hoping someone else will do the work for you such that you can get the expected result.
For example: Hoping your friend will help you cheat to pass the exam
When is Hope Stupid?
When you misuse the optimism of Hope to delay your action. Hope doesn’t mean you will succeed it only means you will keep trying till the very end. If you delay the start consciously then you are stupid.
For example: Not reading the daily news and hoping the monthly news digest will give you all information
When is Hope the only option?
This last case is the reason why we read so many quotes. Why Hope is shown as a guiding light in all motivational content.
There are times when we are highly likely to suffer loss and we can’t do anything about it.
For example: Hoping to be saved from an incoming hurricane
Dear Reader, when there is ‘Nothing’ there is ‘Hope’
